Why is ‘Joker 2’ so similar to ‘La La Land’? The strange connection that emerged from the movie trailer

Official trailer for ‘Joker: Folie à Deux’

The first trailer for Joker 2, or rather Joker: Folie à Deux, has left big surprises. It was the first look at Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker back after the first installment, the discovery of Lady Gaga’s Harley Quinn and, above all, seeing the two in action, since it is not in vain that this film will focus on the relationship between the two. However, there is another detail that has been palpable throughout the trailer and that has not gone unnoticed by many viewers. And it is none other than the obvious similarity of the film with one of the best films of recent years: La La Land (The City of Stars).

Yes, you read it right. The sequel to the acclaimed Joker, which won nothing less than the Golden Lion at the Venice Festival and arrived at the 2019 Oscars as one of the big favorites, is being compared to Damien Chazelle’s musical starring Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling in 2016. Not only because of the anecdote that she also came close to winning the statuette, in that famous Warren Beatty episode that ended with Moonlight winning the Academy. No, it is an aesthetic connection, of colors and planes, that has been evidenced in several planes and that many users have not hesitated to point out on social networks.

In the trailer for Joker: Folie à Deux we meet again with Arthur Fleck (Phoenix), who after the events of the first installment is admitted to Arkham Asylum, where he will meet Harley Quinn (Lady Gaga). Although in the original comics this character is actually nurse Harleen Frances Quinzel, who cares for the Joker until she ends up falling madly in love with him, here it seems that she is already part of Arkham as another intern. We immediately see how both begin to coincide in various events at the center in a very similar way to the fortuitous encounters between Mia (Emma Stone) and Sebastian (Ryan Gosling) in La La Land, with a layout identical to that of the planetarium, in this case in what looks like the Arkham cinema.

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Visual comparisons between ‘Joker: Folie à Deux’ and ‘La La Land’ that several users have pointed out (X)

The night scenes, the use of night blue tones or shots as specific as the colored umbrellas under the bridge – which in La La Land in turn served as a tribute to The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, the iconic musical by Jacques Demy – have greatly reminded to the musical film. There is also plenty of music in the trailer for this sequel, and although it doesn’t sound entirely like the compositions of Justin Hurwitz and the jazz of La La Land, its choreographies don’t seem so far away. The scene of the Joker and Harley leaving what looks like a court dancing to the beat has been one of the most repeated on social networks, with many messages under the same title: “Joker 2 is La La Land for crazy people.”

Even so, the director of Joker and this sequel, Todd Phillips, has clarified that Joker: Folie à Deux is not a typical musical, but a film closely linked to the world of music. “We never talk about her as such. It is a film in which music is an essential element. For me, it’s not too far from the first film,” says the filmmaker, who already surprised with the first installment after making other films very far from that record such as Those University Parties or The Hangover. “It didn’t feel like we were taking a big leap, but I think it will make sense when you see it,” Phillips added. We will have to wait until next October 4 to discover if these apparent connections with La La Land go much further than they seem, but for now everything indicates that both are destined to be remembered for their iconicity.